Need a truck for the zombie apocalypse? Ford and Shelby have just the thing.

Just in case the 411-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 Ford SVT Raptor isn't enough for your needs, the performance experts at Shelby American Inc. have constructed a 575-hp Raptor. The Shelby Raptor is the big brother to the monster GT500 Super Snake Mustang, the special-option package that just debuted at the 2013 New York International Auto Show; this promises to be the most impressive muscle truck offered to date.

Here's how Shelby describes this new limited-edition package:

"Shelby American takes the impressive Ford SVT Raptor and adds some 'Shelby Magic' to create the ultimate muscle truck."

Shelby America will produce the trucks at its headquarters in Las Vegas; base packages (after the cost of a new SVT Raptor) will start at $18,000 and include a supercharger, some suspension modifications, a custom exhaust and several interior upgrades. Of course, Shelby will offer more dress-up and performance mods as well. The company says it doesn't plan to make more than 100 units per year to keep them exclusive. Each Shelby Raptor sold will be registered in the Shelby Registry.

This is the first pickup truck for Shelby in more than 30 years; in 1989, it offered a two-wheel-drive featherweight Dodge Dakota with the electronic fuel-injected 5.2-liter V-8. Only 1,500 units were sold — about 1,000 red and 500 white — and not many have survived. Additionally, some credit the Shelby Dakota with starting the muscle truck craze, which included the GMC Syclone and Ford Lightning.

Stay tuned, as we're hoping to have more detailed coverage of how the Shelby performance package works in the real world after we get behind the wheel.

That's nice, but we all want to see the 6.2L kicked to the curb and the 5.8L squeezed into it's place. What Raptor DOESN'T NEED 662HP???

Posted by: Toycrusher | Mar 28, 2013 12:48:13 PM

Same cash as buying a new Ram laramie longhorn and adding the full Ram Runner conversion. Except it will be short 200 hp...

Posted by: Toycrusher | Mar 28, 2013 12:51:59 PM

I'd rather see the 6.7 Power Stroke in the Raptor, with 6R140. Torque, acceleration, power, fuel economy, and range. You could have 1200 lb-ft of torque to go with your 600 HP!

Posted by: Alex | Mar 28, 2013 12:54:51 PM

@ Toycrusher,

Add a Super Charger to the RAM and problem solved...
Not many people will build a Laramie Long Horn,as the Raptor is not the top trim level truck,it isnt the Ford Platinum,comparable to the RAM Sport.Furthermore,Mopar said it may build a factory Ram Runner,and they have alot of crate Hemi engines around,and Mopar is coming up with a 6.2 supercharged engine for its SRT cars in the future or just add a 640 horse Viper V-10 would be great in a Ram Runner ! Remember Toyota,Ford,GM use a Chrysler HEMI in top fuel Racing,even drag boats use the best of the best,Chrysler HEMI ,cant beat it over 10,000 hp no other engine can do that reliably !!! Mopar Rules !!

@ Alex ,

But the Diesel with 600 hp and 1200 torque wont outrun a gas engine with 600 hp and 600 torque..I see it all the time done up diesels cant outrun a stock 12 second 1/4 mile RAM SRT-10 ! Yes,a good driver to control wheel spin can get 12's out of a stock RAM SRT-10 !! Yes,there are 10,11,12 second Diesel Trucks but they run 800-1000 horsepower,not 600 hp thats a 13 second ride in a Diesel..If a gas was 600 horse,1200 torque it would run in the 10's..Diesels need more power/torque then a gas to be as quick.Look at the heavy duty trucks,the Diesels have 800 torque 350-400 horsepower and dont out run the gas engines offered with around the same hp but half as much torque ! If you tow farm equiptment or small machines for construction,yes a Diesel works but most just need a heavy duty and a gas engine..Gas is less picky,less maint and saves you money in the long run..Unless your at maximun tow/haul mode 24/7 then a Diesel makes sense !

Posted by: Toyota LOL !! | Mar 28, 2013 1:39:28 PM

Lol @toyota lol

10,000 hp reliably? What are you smoking?

More like 8,000 hp, and I suppose five seconds run time between engine rebuilds would seem pretty reliable to a mopar guy...

Posted by: toycrusher84 | Mar 28, 2013 1:46:49 PM

Sweet!

Posted by: Frank | Mar 28, 2013 2:00:48 PM

ToyotaLoL: this has been settled a time ago, that the Hemi in Top Fuel racing has NOTHING to do with the Chrysler Hemi other than being called a Hemi! there may be some Mopar Crate engines in other forms of racing, but the engines in Top Fuel are not!

Posted by: sandman4X4 | Mar 28, 2013 2:31:41 PM

I think if You check John Force and Ford developed a Boss Ford engine for funny cars and top fuel and it is awesome.

Posted by: APEX GT | Mar 28, 2013 2:42:02 PM

Man that's one hell of a truck. Maybe the Dodge guys will get their wish and have a factory truck like this soon.

"that the Hemi in Top Fuel racing has NOTHING to do with the Chrysler Hemi other than being called a Hemi!"

@Sandman, true but there's no doubt there's 2 big names in drag racing now, Dodge and Ford. And Dodge gets credit from the Hemi name regardless. It's good to see Ford finally doing their own engines. They're a huge name again in drag racing. Chevrolet has gone missing for the most part in NHRA and drag racing in general. At least mainstream. Actually, Chevrolet has gone missing from this truck fight too. It's only Dodge and Ford yet again. Where art thou Chevy?? I remember the days when drag racing and trucks both were practically owned by Chevrolet. That was when it was good to be a Chevy guy. GM really did a number to the Bowtie the last 10 and 20 years.

Posted by: FordTrucks1 | Mar 28, 2013 2:46:53 PM

Drivetrain is the weak spot for Ford's offroad stuff. The Raptor is an offroad ride looking for a job to do.

The Ford SVT people need to develop the right attitude and create a tiresmoking street rod truck that utilizes the V10 Ford block and the Shelby Mustang and GT40 greasy bits underneath.

Posted by: Papa Jim | Mar 28, 2013 2:58:13 PM

Ford have nothing to do..

Posted by: Miath | Mar 28, 2013 3:10:24 PM

@Fordtrucks1 I have a red hot C-note in my hand that says the SBC engine outnumbers Mopar and Ford COMBINED at dragstrips every weekend.

Call it whatever you want but Chevy engines and Powerglide autos light up the drags. Corporate support? Is that what you're talking about?

When was the last time Chrysler or Ford investments in technology made a big difference for the weekend guys in drag racing? I'm not talking about the big stars--tell me the brand that home-built racers use every weekend at the strip.

Small Block Chevy. Period. Windsor block Fords? Uhhh.

If you want to talk about Nascar, that would be different but drag racing is all about Chevy.

Posted by: Papa Jim | Mar 28, 2013 3:25:10 PM

@Papa jim,

SBC are the cheapest motors money can buy, this is why they are everywhere. CHEAP, CHEAP!!! Built cheap too!!!

Posted by: Frank | Mar 28, 2013 3:40:37 PM

@Alex
I'm a converted diesel guy, but the weight of the engine in the front will not help the Raptor.

You would have to look at a high performance Euro diesel as they are lighter.

But this Raptor is a monster of a truck.

Now, I hope the Holden Maloo gets the new supercharged LS3 they are going to drop into the Commodore sedan.

At least GM will have a comparable on road vehicle. It will probably carry more weight.

Ram? Who cares.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 3:51:49 PM

"This is the first pickup truck for Shelby in more than 30 years; in 1989, it offered a two-wheel-drive featherweight Dodge Dakota with the electronic fuel-injected 5.2-liter V-8."

1989 would be 24 years ago, not "more than 30."

Posted by: RoadTrip | Mar 28, 2013 4:00:36 PM

Since its introduction in the 1950s, no other engine has come close to equaling the role the Chrysler Hemi has played in Top Fuel drag racing or on the salt flats.
Hot rodding pioneers like Joe Mondello did great things with Oldsmobile engines as Mickey Thompson did with Pontiacs, and Tommy Ivo did with Buicks. But the Chrysler 392 quickly became the engine of choice on the strip, as well as on the salt, and the dry lakes.

The 392 was built to last. I've owned one, a '58, which I bought when I lived in Harrisburg, North Carolina. I can tell you that having carried all three, a stock 392 cylinder head feels more than twice as heavy as a Donovan small block Chevy block or a Holman and Moody aluminum 427 Ford block. Even a water pump off a 392 weighs more than two or three good mountain bikes. But if the Hemi hadn't been built so stout, it never would have survived to achieve its status.

Once the Hemi had established its dominance in drag racing, engineering visionaries that included Keith Black designed and produced reinforced aluminum blocks and free-breathing aluminum heads for the Hemi which were better suited to blown and injected nitro racing.

To this day the engines used in virtually all Top Fuel cars and Funny Cars, back to the Keith Black engines, and the JP1 engines that were made by the late Joe Paisano, are all based on the Chrysler 426 Hemi.

It's unfortunate that there are some of you that have yet to experience the sound of a Hemi on nitro. I'll extend myself just a tad by summing it up this way:

"Now I've been to church and I've been to the drags, and brothers and sisters, for those of you who have never heard a Hemi on nitro, get thee to the drag strip when the Fuel cars are running. Get thee a pit pass, and bring thyself to a Fuel car being tuned up. Listen to the overwhelming sound of what must be the closest thing you can hear in this life to The Sound Of God. Reach out, brothers and sisters, and bask in the glory of the almighty Hemi. For I have heard the Hemi testify. And I believe! Yayass, I believe."

Posted by: HEMI V8 | Mar 28, 2013 4:09:10 PM

@RoadTrip
Why let facts get into the way of a story? This is PUTC.

@HemiV8
Keith Black engines ain't Chrysler. Remember we have had this discussion previously. I will post that link again to show otherwise.

Remember. What's with this cut and paste crap, can't you write?

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 4:22:16 PM

In some ways the actual Raptor has been missing in action. There was none in the last Dakar Rally. MY QUESTION to anyone who follows SCORE/OFF ROAD in general have Raptors been entered into any events in 2012/2013?

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Mar 28, 2013 4:23:53 PM

Chrysler Hemi's Kicked Ass all over other engines from ford or chevy or pontiac or buick or etc.. From the 50's to the 70's. Chrysler stopped producing the Hemi in 1971. The racers were running out of O.E.M cast iron blocks. That's when guys like keith black were developing aluminum version of the engine blocks and heads.

Keith Black, wasn't the first to produce aluminum Chrysler Hemi blocks, but his design was the industry standard. He introduced his aluminum version of Chrysler's 426 Hemi in 1974. This was the fuel category's "bread-and-butter" engine for the better part of the next decade.

Posted by: HEMI V8 | Mar 28, 2013 4:39:52 PM

@Hemi V8
Keith Black made good engines. But for political reasons they wouldn't allow the McGee overhead cam top fuel engine compete in the NHRA meets.

Why? Because they were too competitive. When a formula is based on a single engine type it will of course be "the best" performing engine in that category.

The link I have is for Cosworth engines. These engines are far superior to the low tech Keith Black engines. Ford played a significant role in Cosworth.

Ford is a joke in N.H.R.A Pro stock drag racing. Most races they don't qualify not fast enough to make the field. Dodge and Pontiac are the ones to beat. You can buy a pro stock 500 cubic inch hemi from MOPAR.

Posted by: HEMI V8 | Mar 28, 2013 5:20:43 PM

Dodge/Ram, coming SilveRama will need a lot more Government money to ever match the Raptor.

Posted by: Yellowcreek | Mar 28, 2013 5:26:03 PM

Here you go Hemi V8,
Here is an interesting company that does alot of development work for the vehicle manufacturers as well as manufacture.

I have personally stood by the tree during a Top fuel match, and there is not a feeling in the world quite like being in a 16,000 hp sandwich. You nearly lose control of bodily functions.

That being said, I have a top fuel piston signed by Tony Pedregon and his team hanging on my wall, and these engines hardly have anything to do with the original Hemi. It's comparing a firework stand bottle rocket with the space shuttle.

Posted by: Toycrusher | Mar 28, 2013 5:30:47 PM

@Toycrusher, Only the design of the original 426 Hemi.

Here is NHRA definition of a Top fuel engine. They run the sport.

Top Fuel Dragsters: The fastest-accelerating vehicles in the world, these are the most recognizable of all drag race cars. The 25-foot-long landlocked missiles can cover the quarter-mile in 4.4 seconds at speeds faster than 335 mph. The engine of choice is an aluminum version of the famous Chrysler Hemi. The supercharged, fuel-injected nitromethane-burning engines produce an estimated 7,000 horsepower.

Austin Coil, the crew chief who was the chief architect behind the technology that made John Force a 15-time champion in National Hot Rod Association competition, said in a telephone interview that the engines accelerating today’s dragsters and funny cars are direct descendants of the 1964 Chrysler Hemi V-8. Thanks Al.

Posted by: HEMI V8 | Mar 28, 2013 6:19:40 PM

@HemiV8
Is a Ram pickup a decendent of a Model T pickup. Without the Model T you would have Ford inspired Aussie utes now. Not your pickups.

Thank HemiV8.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 6:22:07 PM

@Big Al, could go with the 4.4 V8 Lion diesel, it comes out of the same factory as the 6.7 (Chihuahua, Mexico).

So what is your argument? When Chrysler had their 331,392,426 Hemi cast iron heads and block they were smoking Ford and every one else in drag racing. Why do you think they all went to them before they were mandated?

Chrysler FirePower Hemi
The infamous Gen II Chrysler Hemi is an engine that needs no introduction. Whether it was in NASCAR, NHRA Top Fuel, or at the local dragstrip, everyone was trying to chase down the big, bad Hemi. Interestingly, Chrysler dabbled with hemispherical combustion chambers 13 years before the 426 Hemi debuted in '64. Launched in 1951, the Gen I Hemi produced 180 hp from its 331 ci of displacement. By 1951 standards, that was pretty darned stout. Consequently, the significance of this engine is rather obvious. Without a Gen I Hemi, there would be no Gen II Hemi.
Not only did Chrysler beat Ford and GM to the OHV punch by several years, Mopar's first OHV engine design boasted trick hemispherical cylinder heads. Building upon expertise it earned while developing aircraft engines during WWII, Chrysler achieved this unique cylinder head architecture by placing the intake and exhaust valves on opposing sides of the combustion chambers. The primary benefits of this setup was that it allowed for a straighter path from the back of the intake port to the manifold, and created extra space for larger valves. Actuating the valves in a Hemi chamber with an in-block camshaft required titling the pushrods at extreme angles, but Chrysler was able to make this arrangement run reliably. The 331 was bored and stroked to 354 ci in 1956, and produced an impressive 355 hp in its top trim level. Chrysler then upped the ante with a raised-deck block in '57, which allowed increasing the stroke even more for a total of 392 ci. The dimensions of this tall-deck block were quite imposing, with a 4.562-inch bore spacing, and a 10.870-inch deck height. The 10.0:1 version of the 392 was rated at 345 hp, and proved very popular with drag racers. A fuel-injected 392 was offered in the Chrysler 300, which churned out 390 hp.

The Gen I Hemi wasn't marketed as a Hemi, and Chrysler dubbed it the FirePower V-8. Chrysler abandoned the Hemi cylinder head architecture in 1958 when production of the Gen I Hemi ended. It was replaced by more traditional and cheaper-to-produce wedge cylinder heads that were introduced along with the new B-series big-block platform that same year. Perhaps recognizing the promise of these hemispherical heads many years later, Chrysler revived the design with the launch of the Gen II 426 Hemi.

That said, the Hemi story doesn't end there. Before the Gen I Hemi was dropped in favor of the B-series wedge motor, Chrysler manufactured a line of "semi-Hemi" V-8s from '55 to '58 called the Spitfire for consumers who didn't want to pony up for the FirePower engine. They used the same 331 and 354ci short-block assemblies as the Gen I Hemi, but were topped with polysphere cylinder heads and a conventional inline valvetrain. The polysphere heads got their name from combustion chambers that resembled two half spheres, and the most potent 354ci variant checked in at 310 hp. Chrysler also produced a 301ci small-bore version of this engine for entry-level vehicles.

"Not only did Chrysler beat Ford and GM to the OHV punch by several years, Mopar's first OHV engine design boasted trick hemispherical cylinder heads."

@Alex
The Porche Cayene 4.2 diesel is and Audi derived engine. The power and torque is what I expect to be the norm in a decade.

It could power an HD.

The vehicle weighs 4 700lbs and is AVERAGING 30mpg. On the highway it would have to get mid 30s. It accelerates to 100kmph in 5.7 seconds.

The engine is 382hp and must be over 600ftlb of torque.

We will have this kind of diesel performance for daily drivers soon.

The Lion is a British derived engine. They are getting old, but still have some punch.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 6:42:38 PM

@Big Al, Ford could easily match that with the 4.4. It's already at 340/516 and hasn't been touched for a couple of years, you are right. I'd say 400/600 would be a simple programming tweak. It really bugs me how Ford isn't using this awesome engine. All they do is build them for Land Rover.

Posted by: Alex | Mar 28, 2013 6:52:05 PM

@Hemi V8
I never stated the Keith Black aren't a decendant of the original Chrysler engine.

But I do question the commonality now. Not one Fiat/Chrysler/Mopar component is transferrable.

A classic example is the original Datsun 1600 sports car from the 60s. Its engine an OHV developed into the L Series OHC engines both 4 and 6 cylinders. The blocks are similar.

The L series engines are linked to the Z series. Which are directly related to the Godzilla engines in the magnificant turbo AWD Skylines from the 80s and 90s.

So, are they the same engines? And they are built by the same manufacturer not like the Hemis that are built by Keith Black.

Personally I would much rather have the 3.5 ecoboost. I think that it would be much more of a daily driver than just an expensive toy that way. The lighter engine would probably do better in soft soil too.

Or Ford Racing is developing a Dakar racer. But I hope the Ranger will come with a V8.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 7:16:48 PM

@Alex
no'un is goin learn me worser engliss.

Wow, what a poor effort my last post was.

Sorry.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 7:18:16 PM

This truck badly needs a roll cage.

Posted by: HEMI V8 | Mar 28, 2013 8:38:10 PM

@Big Al, the supercharged V6 for Land Rover / Jag is a petrol unit. They really should be using the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost, way more torque and more fuel efficient! This is also the engine you really want in the Ranger! LR/Jag have used the 2.0 EcoBoost on the Evoque though. The 4.4L Lion V8 diesel is a popular, but premium engine for the Range Rover Vogue, it's not even available in North America, but is available pretty much everywhere else in the world. I suspect it would be a smart alternative to a petrol V8 in a truck. It should be an option in North American Fords, such as the F-150, Super Duty, Transit, Expedition, and Navigator. Yes, the Lion engines are complex and expensive, but (as not many people know) the 6.7 Power Stroke was based on the same design and technology, just a bigger block and, well.... bigger everything. So the 4.4 has to be cheaper to build than the 6.7!

Posted by: Alex | Mar 28, 2013 9:27:47 PM

@Alex
I don't know how the gas engines like this are going to develop much further with CAFE in the future.

Do the after market specialists like Shelby and Rousch have to meet CAFE? Or are they regulated differently?

I read an article yesterday that the Chev SS might be hampered by CAFE regulations and not the value of the AUD.

They are talking about more limitations on numbers sold. That would have to make the SS a collectors item.

If this is the case and CAFE regs start impacting full size mpgs will this make it near impossible for V8s like this to occur.

People will hopefully see my arguments on CAFE. Its not just a midsizer argument.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Mar 28, 2013 10:26:24 PM

This is why there is no Lightening F150. FORD has had this planned for so long and the RAPTOR blows everyones doors off. What a plan. They left dodge high and dry. rams suck SO BAD anyways till they make hemiv8 swallow there load. He loves that!!

The economy is down, cost of living is up and Ford sees no need to invest any time or energy in bringing something more affordable to market, like their Ranger. But do see the value in spending their time creating this $72,000! truck. A crew cab no less, you know so you can race your 4x4 with the whole family.

$$$$$ and profits rule!

(Doesn't just apply to Ford either)

Posted by: matthew | Mar 29, 2013 7:44:51 AM

@Ken Lyns

I don't think so. Maybe Shelby and other similar companies are exempt.